Numbers by Sean Johnson CC BY-NC 2.0
events

Dictatorship of Numbers

NIAS Seminar

Journalist-in-Residence Sanne Blauw discusses her book on the demystification of statistics, and the consequences of our world being guided by numbers.

About the Seminar

“It is difficult to find a part of life that is not influenced by statistics – whether it’s healthcare or education, home or work, politics or media. The appeal comes from the idea that numbers provide an objective registration of reality. However, this idea is not only wrong, it is potentially dangerous. Statistics are full of moral and political choices, that are now too often made by mathematically-minded experts. My book – aimed at a general audience – will discuss these decisions and show their impact. At the seminar, I will outline the general structure of the book and discuss examples that I plan to use.”

About the Seminar

NIAS Seminars are aimed to stimulate scientific cross-pollination within the NIAS academic community, but seminars are open to others who are interested. Please  if you wish to attend.

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